Molted
by Rangerskirt
Summary: Sequel to Nesting. Eight years of happiness later Erik is presented with some awful news about Charles. They try to deal with it together as best as possible and just when they think they're getting the hang of it life throws in a chilling and fatal side effect, one that draws many un-wanted eyes to the X-Mansion.
1. Chapter 1

Thank you, to everyone who read, commented, faved, and etc to Nesting who made me feel like it was worthwhile writing this. This is going to have a bit of a darker tone to it and at this moment I'm not sure how I want it to end yet.

Please let me know what you think of this as a sequel and/or a story on its own I would love to know what people think.

I'm thinking around 4 chapters of this story, that may be subject to change.

* * *

 **Xavier Institute - 1998**

Eight long years had passed since Erik Lehnsherr had come back to the X-Mansion and ultimately decided to stay and settle down there, he had to chalk it up to the best decision of his life. There had always been constant reminders in his life that he had made mistakes, all usually in anger or despair for what had happened to him in the past. Now it finally felt as if Erik could just focus on the future and put horrible thoughts and events behind him to relish in the atmosphere of the Xavier Institute and his family that resided there.

Life there had become a routine of ever-changing events, most were predictable when it came to Erik's day but there were always surprises around the corners when you lived and taught at a school for young mutants.

Waking up that chilly morning the metal bender pushed himself up from the bed only to see his breath in the air and snow lightly falling outside. A groan of discomfort came from below where a very asleep, but now cold Charles was laying after losing his living heating blanket. Yawning Erik hit the off button for the alarm which was set to go off in about five minutes at 6:45 am for him, Charles wouldn't need to wake up until their second alarm which was set for a few hours later.

The wooden floor was cold beneath his feet that morning as it had been the last month since the temperature dropped, coincidentally it had gotten freezing right around Christmas time giving the students plenty of snow on the ground that had stayed even through the New Year. Heading over to the closet to pull out a sweatshirt and pants to swear for the day the tall mutant also grabbed two extra blankets and proceeded to tuck them over his lover to stop his shivering.

Leaning over the sleeping form Erik pressed a quick kiss to Charle's soft brown hair and muttered ever so gently, "Morning _liebe._ " Before retreating to the bathroom and getting ready for the day. He had always used to take morning jogs by himself until one day he had discovered a group of morning loving students waiting for him by the foyer who had requested to join him for such a job. It was completely optional of course but now the invitation went out to anyone and everyone who felt like running in the wee-hours before school started, normally Erik's little group tended to be around 5-10 students even now when it was cold out.

It had taken some getting used to at first having a little trail of ducklings following in his footsteps as he jogged, but now the sound was familiar and welcomed. Erik would even dare to say that he might miss those shuffling steps if they disappeared one day.

After exercise, he would retreat to his room for a quick shower and go downstairs to help get things ready for breakfast, when it was ready usually Charles would be coming downstairs and greet him with a sleepy but happy smile. Both men were starting to show their age, Erik's hair had a tinge of silver lining places and jogging tired him just a bit more than it used to, for Charles they both hated to admit it but his hair was starting to thin a bit. Not to mention as of late Erik had started to notice little things about his lover, like his brain would just space out at times like it never had before, at least often enough that it was noticeable now. Also that he had more and more headaches as the months passed despite him not even using Cerebro that often anymore, just little things that were sending yellow flags in Erik's mind that his loves health might be deteriorating faster than would be liked.

Breakfast was also about the only time he would see his own children now, Wanda and Pietro were twenty and going on twenty-one this year and very much adults. Both had quite the grip on their powers, Wanda's had spiked a bit when she hit puberty but with Erik and Charles plus all of the other skilled teachers there to help her through it she learned with some but less difficulty than if she'd been elsewhere. Nowadays Wanda was taking classes in New York, right now headed towards becoming a lawyer but that had changed before several times in the past. Charles always insisted that he had plenty of money for her to explore whatever studies she wanted without worry, the same extended to Pietro but the boy didn't seem all that interested in taking up the offer like his sister.

While his sister was off taking classes most days, her brother usually did odd jobs around the mansion. Much like his father, this mansion had become Pietro's safe place and he loved being around everyone that lived there. When he had been little he had clung to people he knew mostly like Erik, Charles, Wanda and even Logan but he had eventually flourished and now was quite the social butterfly with other mutant children. He could often be found helping out with the younger kids who all thought he was quite hilarious.

Much to his sadness there had been one day when the twins had approached Erik and humbly request he stop using his pet German names for them, saying that they were too old for such names if they wanted to be taken more seriously by the other students. Begrudgingly he had agreed and soon after that had gotten out of the habit of calling Charles _mause_ and nowadays often just called him _leibe_ or _liebling_ instead since it rolled off the tongue nicely.

This morning wasn't much different than Erik's usual, he had kissed Wanda's forehead before she headed off to the city for class, he'd given Pietro his usual respectful 'good morning' and then smiled seeing sleepy Charles wheel his way into the kitchen and request tea. He had been ready and poured a hot cup just the way Charles liked it and watched the man sip, and sigh out, "Perfect~ Erik have I told you that you always make the perfect cup of tea somehow?"

Rolling his grayish blue eyes the taller man muttered, "At least twice a week." Not seeming to mind the hordes of kids grabbing plates and food from the buffet style feast Erik continued their conversation, "You've been more tired lately...are you not sleeping well?" Erik could see the slight rings of darker color that were formed under Charles' still bright blue eyes, it always seemed as if Charles slept really well and deeply during the night but perhaps he had thought wrong.

"Just a bit of stress since the school has doubled in population the last year and a half." the telepath said back out loud but answered more fully between their minds. _I can feel the worry radiating off of you, I promise it's just stress._ That didn't seem to relax Erik anymore but it was enough to get the slightly older man off of Charles' case, at least for now since they had breakfast to eat and children to teach.

Things between the two men had become quite domestic in the last almost-decade, it had taken time as usual but they had now put things in the past properly and given closer to each other about this and that. Amazing what could be done with a relationship when you were consistently there to put effort into it together, it helped of course that they had two adorable trouble making children to look after together.

So why was it that Erik felt like the telepath was ultimately hiding something from him, it had been this way for awhile but the subject hadn't concerned him until it started affecting Charles health like it was now. Perhaps it really was stress over having so many children, then Erik could try to take some load off of the mans' shoulders, or maybe that family fortune was dwindling and Erik could help figure putting it into stocks so that it would continue to support them. No matter what it was, he wanted to fix it so that he could see Charles wheel around with the energy he always seemed to have, Erik had always admired that quality from the day they had met up until now still.

Several weeks flew by and still the subject bothered Erik, especially seeing those dark rings only get worse under his lover's eyes, and yet still Charles avoided it like there was absolutely nothing wrong. They had been together long enough that the metal kinetic could very well feel when something was wrong even in slight changes of behavior and this one was tingling his senses worse than any before for some unknown reason.

With no other choice that he could see Erik went into Charles' study one early morning after his jog and started to rifling through papers and drawers. Looking for bills, papers, letters, anything that could explain what was bothering his love so much it was making him exhausted and stressed enough to sleep all night and still be tired in the morning.

There was nothing of the like, sure there were bills but they were all set up to be paid, and letters could get nasty but there was nothing that Erik nor Charles hadn't dealt with before with ease. There was though, one plain folder at the bottom of a stack of papers in the left bottom drawer of Charles' desk, very obviously put at the bottom as if to be out of sight and out of mind. Flipping through it Erik recognized this as a medical examination, dated a little over two years ago he might add, and for a handful of tests.

Most came back negative, other than one highlighted line in the middle of the page which read with awful lettering _Positive._ Re-reading that line several times to take it in Erik swallowed the lump in his throat that tasted of bile and the man quickly grabbed the single piece of paper before marching up to their shared room. He projected in a very angry message, _Charles we need to talk. Right fucking now. Meet me up in our room or I swear your chair is going to be floating up here no matter what you're doing right now!_

Sitting on the edge of their bed he stared at the white piece of paper a little longer before crumpling it up between his hands with a searing passion. Clenching his eyes for a brief moment Erik could feel the movement of his lover's familiar wheelchair going up the elevator and coming down the hall to their room. Snapping his eyes open when the door did and he heard a soft voice call, "Erik, darling what's wrong? You sounded angry."

"Yes, I'm angry!" He threw the crumpled paper on the floor and pointed at it as if accusing it of treason, "I just found a medical examination from in your desk that says you have...a _degenerative brain disease!?_ That thing is dated about two years ago, _two fucking years_ and I've never heard anything about this!"

All of this had caught the telepath by surprise, he had long since stopped distrusting Erik and therefore didn't delve into his mind very deep nowadays to see what he really was thinking or meant by things. Though he had been hiding this a long time, he had no right to ask why his lover had been foraging through his desk distrustfully of him when this was something that very much affected them both. Charles had no right to hide this as long as he did, and Erik knew it. "Why, why did you hide this? Two years is so long, you should be going to the doctor regularly for treatment and-and checkups, medication, that stuff!" his anger had quickly deflated into pure worrying.

His wheelchair rolled closer to Erik and Charles reached a hand to place over Erik's shaking one. "I'm sorry." the words were a bit stiff, the younger man had taken so much effort into blocking that sickness out it was almost as if he himself had forgotten about it and reality was coming crashing down on him. "I knew I was going t have to tell you eventually but we were so happy, _you..._ were so happy I didn't want to tear that away from you."

The metal benders rougher hand turned and clenched, holding onto Charles' for dear life, "You should have told me, I'm pissed at you. But I'm mostly worried, diseases like that start slow but they get moving quickly. We need to take you to a doctor to check your treatment option-" he was cut off towards the end though by Charles muttering, "I don't have any." leaving them both blankly staring at each other for a pregnant pause.

"At my age, the treatment they have is only about 30% chance of working, but I'm certain that the treatment would mess with my telepathy and I might end up hurting someone...a lot of people. I did think about taking something to suppress my telepathy while undergoing the treatment but-" the shorter man gave a small gasp when Erik suddenly knelt so that he was able to hug Charles tightly while still in the chair. "b-but I don't think I could handle not having it, being able to feel and help so many people."

Being cut off from it would be like losing another pair of legs for Charles, maybe even worse since the man tended to rely on his ability to make up for his immobility. Perhaps he could have survived cutting it off for a time being if his legs were intact, but after years of no use even if he took that serum Hank had once created for him it would take months if not longer for the muscles to reform and become mobile again. Charles began sniffling and he reached his arms around Erik's back to grow closer to the embrace, "I'm so sorry I don't know why I'm crying all of a sudden."

"Maybe medicine won't work for you, what about normal means? Did the doctor tell you to limit yourself at all?" Erik's voice still had a hint of anger in it from earlier but he was trying so hard to be comforting and supportive, knowing that this wasn't going to be easy on either of them in the long run. "Well he did tell me that running a school full of kids probably wasn't good for me, but I love it so much I don't think I could retire."

Pulling back from the hug Erik tugged his long sleeve down a bit more and raised his arm to wipe the slowly drying tears from Charles' freckled cheeks, "I'm going to find a way to fix you, I don't care what it takes Charles. I'll hunt down every medical expert on the globe, I'll find a mutant who is good at this sort of thing, I'd kill-..." after that the words all but died in his throat and Erik corrected himself, "I would do anything for you to stay by my side even a little longer."

Nodding his head Charles' blue eyes sparkled with his unshed tears, "I know that, it's also a reason I didn't tell you sooner. When you put your mind to something you don't rest until you find an answer and I guess I just wanted things to stay the same for awhile. Though I can't stop you from researching I guess." a small hopeful smile graced his lips, "I'll tell Wanda and Pietro myself, they should hear it from me."

Grabbing his wheels the man started to turn as if to head off to brief the children if they were around, but Erik's powers tugged his wheels to an immediate stop. "This is why I'm still angry at you, stop trying to do this alone. We will tell the children, and the staff, together Charles. Perhaps we don't have rings on our fingers but I'm close enough to a husband to you that I deserve to be a pillar for you to lean on in times like this just as you've done for me in the past. Promise me that you'll let me help you...or I'm not going to let go of your wheels." his voice had started out rocky but warmed towards the end in a very slight teasing manner to lighten the mood.

Tugging on his wheels with no avail Charles lifted his eyes to look back at Erik who was standing close by still, "I promise. I've been so tired lately so I'd be quite a fool to refuse your kind offer." he finally agreed and it was only then that the taller mutant finally felt some pressure relieve off of his own shoulders. The tightness that had resided there out of worry for his lover was loosening and becoming a clenching feeling in his heart instead, he wasn't sure which feeling he preferred at the moment.

* * *

A/N: So I've decided I really don't want to put out false information or end up offending anyone so I'm going to leave Charles' sickness unnamed and open to interpretation. I hope this doesn't bother anyone too much.  
Also, this was pretty much a setup chapter, more interesting things will happen in the next.

Next Chapter Summary: Charles had been under the assumption that his sickness would lessen his powers as he got worse, when the opposite is shown to be fact he puts not only his families lives in danger but the entire school.  
Erik becomes reacquainted with an old helmet.


	2. Chapter 2

Being in love was equally as difficult as it was rewarding, at least Erik found it that way. Especially when idiots like him fell for such strong-willed people, Magda had been the same, she hadn't cared if he was the most wanted man in the world when she had all but demanded Erik be home in time for dinner every night for family time. Life might have been easier to love someone who was more submissive but the tall mutant wouldn't exchange anything for that fiery look in Charles' eyes when he put his mind to something he deemed important.

So as they headed downstairs in the elevator to a small meeting they had announced with just a few important people, Charles was radiating his distaste for this situation. When the metal doors opened Erik stepped out but wasn't followed, the telepath frowned deeply, "Maybe we should do this more individually or plan this out better instead of just blurting it out." he suggested. "I'm not comfortable doing this."

Between the two of them, Charles was the more extroverted and people orientated so seeing him like this was unusual but very understandable. "I know this isn't fun, but I'll be by your side the entire time. There will probably be some crying, I bet you anything Hank is going to start tearing up first, but it's important to keep your loved ones informed. I've learned that from years of making my own mistakes."

A moment later Erik could feel the tickle against his mind, it felt almost as if Charles consciousness was pressing against his for comfort instead of asking for physical comfort. Smiling just a little Erik scoffed, "You don't need to ask permission you know? I'm not wearing the helmet so there's nothing stopping you from reading my mind."

 _I know, old habits are hard to break I suppose. I still hate that you keep that old hunk of metal around._ Charles projected back simply because he could and enjoyed communicating this way with his lover. "It's a souvenir now and it stays in my classroom for the children to see" the taller man defended. "And you're trying to distract me by changing the subject, now come along and let's get this over with."

Stepping into a stride and hearing the familiar sound of Charles' chair behind him they headed to the quiet foyer where a small group of people stood waiting for them all looking a bit concerned and confused. The group consisted of Wanda, Pietro, Hank, Logan, Ororo and several other highly valued teachers. Charles took front and center stage as he began explaining what a degenerative brain disease was right out into the open without context, using his Professor's voice and sounding like he was teaching a new class.

"Professor I don't understand, why did you call us in here to tell us that?" Hank started to say but Logan's big huff stopped him from questioning further. "He's sick, ain't that right Chuck? I've been around long enough to know when someone is beating around the bush to bad news and this is a textbook bad news situation."

"Yes it's true, I'm afraid there isn't much that can be done about it though-" he glanced up at Erik, "-I am looking into possible options. Please don't worry about me, I just might seem a bit spacy from time to time and more tired than usual. I am still capable of doing my everyday things and teaching classes."

Ororo was the first to notice that Charles was absolutely stiff and uncomfortable by all of this and the sudden silence that had overcome the room. So walking forward she nodded and touched the Professor's shoulder, "If there is anything you need, just tell me. Thank you for letting me know." and then she headed off hoping to ease the situation and break the ice.

The twins gave each other a glance and a nod before stepping forward with smiles, "Well we love you and, yeah we're worried but you've always known best." Wanda started to say but then was overshadowed a bit when Pietro cut in, "But we're not going to pester you about this! After all, that would probably stress you out more than ever and make you feel worse. Just expect a lot of extra hugs from Wanda, she's going to get emotional soon-ow!" he rubbed his arm from where his sister had given him a good punch. Yes, Wanda's eyes were started to glisten up but honestly so were Pietro's, he just didn't want to admit it. She leaned over and exchanged a warm hug with Charles before pulling back and rubbing the unshed tears from her eyes.

Opening her mouth to say something else it seemed like she just couldn't and looked to her father for some comfort. Erik stepped forward and touched both of her shoulders, "Don't cry Wanda, this is all early stage as far as we know...I...we're all going to be ok. It's kind of a shock for everyone, why don't you and Pietro go somewhere quiet and try to let this all sink in so it doesn't overwhelm you?"

"Yeah...yeah that sounds good doesn't it Wanda?" her brother said and reached for her wrist. "Let's go to the library and sit down for awhile." with that the twins were out of the room in a slow manner, both of them had stopped twice to look back at Charles who had a stoic sort of expression on his face and hadn't said much at all. _I should have reassured her that I'm feeling fine..._ Erik heard in his mind then and projected back, _Like I said, this is hard for everyone. Probably you most of all, this is why I wanted to be here when you told people Charles. The kids are strong and they're old enough to understand this isn't just a problem you're able to smile through like you always have._

A low voice suddenly called, "Beas-Hank get back here!" Logan called and watched the teary-eyed grown man run off without another word, seemingly heading to lock himself into his lab. Blinking Charles muttered, "I...I hadn't thought Hank would get _that_ upset. He's always been sensitive though, I'll have to apologize later." Shaking his head Logan finally stepped forward and put his hands on his waist, "You don't have to apologize for anything. Not like you chose this. Anyways I just want you to know I'm not gonna fucking baby you or treat you any different like these big babies do, I'm not gonna start bawling my eyes out for you Chuck."

The man's voice seemed harsh if you didn't know him, and even though Erik did the words still boiled inside of his brain and he stepped forward. "You big-" a sharp mind cut him off inside of his head _Erik it's fine!_ and then it was that the metal kinetic noticed Charles was laughing, it wasn't a hard laughter but a soft and genuine one.

"Yes I'd expect nothing else from you Logan, I'd much rather people treat me as normal anyway." It was this sort of thing that had always caused a jealous flare to sit inside of Erik's stomach that no one else seemed to be able to light other than Logan. That beast of a man and Charles somehow had some really strange understanding of each other that lead the two to become quite close friends even if they didn't seem so on the surface.

Later that night, the two of them were settled into bed and Erik was finishing up a chapter of a historical novel he'd been slowly working through when he heard Charles ask, "Do you think I should contact Raven?" That was right, they hadn't seen her in years since she was still off being a mutant vigilante and hero on her own terms, she hadn't seemed all that thrilled with Erik settling down after he had been the one to put her on the path she was on now. Still though, she was family to his lover and her support would probably mean the world to him.

"Yes I do, honestly I think tomorrow you and I should go down to Cerebro and contact her. Perhaps she doesn't like coming back here but I bet she would make an exception when she hears you're sick. You're her brother after all." Giving a curt nod the telepath muttered, "I thought so too but I just-thank you Erik. For easing my mind." Feeling the taller man press a kiss to his forehead Charles smiled and then shuffled to lay down in bed and close his eyes. "Good night, love."

"Good night, _leibe_."

Not until the next evening did they head down to Cerebro's room, in the early afternoon after Erik had taught his personal favorite class which was currently teaching Spanish. Though it was his advanced class so he often liked to switch it up and try to catch the students off guard by speaking in a different language and see what they would do, as long as he got a proper response in a different language Erik would be happy with whatever they said.

The door unlocked and Charles glanced up at him, "Thank you for coming down with me but do you think I could do this in private? It's been so long since I've talked to Raven and last time she...well you know, it didn't go quite so well." Hesitating the older man gave a stiff nod, "Of course, I'll wait right here." and proceeded to cross his arms over his chest and lean his shoulder into the nearby wall. "Just call if you need me." he requested and tapped a finger to his temple knowing Charles would know exactly what he meant by that.

Watching the doors close and his lover disappear Erik moved and closed his eyes, pressing his ear to the door and feeling like a spying child. He couldn't quite help it though, with all that had happened and been revealed lately Erik would be the first to admit he was being a bit abrasive about knowing where and what Charles was doing at most times now. Knowing he was doing it did help, he tried to reign himself in when he was being far too obsessive in his own mind but it was still tough to fight when the worry swirled in his stomach like a hurricane.

Listening in all he could hear were Charles responses but hoped that this went well. _"Raven? Hello, it's wonderful to hear your voice-no no the School is fine. No one is being attacked or anything like that and I'm not trying to convince you to come home...well sort of."_ There was a long pause and Erik could swear he heard Charles grunt, Raven was probably arguing his ear off about her being a strong independent woman. That she was but the metal kinetic just hoped she didn't go too far off on a tangent and would actually listen to what her brother was saying.

 _"What I mean by that is, I'm...sick. Brain disease, I know we aren't close like we used to be but-..You will?"_ Suddenly there was more hope and pep in Charles' tone and the relief washed through and dissipated the hurricane feeling inside of Erik's stomach. _"It would mean so much to me if you could visit sometime yes...yes, yes haha. I love you too. Goodbye Raven."_

Hearing the goodbye Erik quickly moved back into his previous position, looking cool leaning against the wall instead of his spying position by the door. "How did it go?" he asked immediately when Charles appeared in the doorway, the shorter mutant had a smile on his face which started to break one out on Erik's face as well. "Pretty good it looks like?" His lover nodded, his blue eyes bright and glassy and he had to wipe the corners of his eyes with the sleeves of his sweater. "She said she'd come to visit sometime soon."

"That's wonderful Charles."

 **Xavier Institute - 1998 - 8 Months Later**

By now Erik had done a great deal of research into Brain Disease, especially the type that Charles had of course. He had dragged his poor lover to doctor after doctor, many of them being across seas, to see if there was anything they could do. All of them gave him the same damn, frustrating answer, this type of disease was just something you had to manage until the end and there was no chance of lessening its effect through conventional medicine.

So he had gone full health nut after the last rejected doctor, every morning and every evening Charles had a slew of vitamins and herbs to take along with health shakes Erik forced upon him. The telepath was also on a healthy diet, not that he had really eaten all that unhealthy in the first place though so that had been the least of the man's worries.

Charle hadn't been teaching as of late, starting as of last month actually, most days he just found himself far too tired though he would make an effort to come downstairs and see how some of the children were doing as they passed between classes. Only a select few knew that as of late the man's telepathy had been...well going a bit wonky.

Of course, Erik had been the first to notice the problem, Charles' headaches had become much more frequent and more painful to the point where they could keep him in bed for a day at their worst. He had also felt how his lovers' mind would reach out without meaning to and connect to his, and the metal kinetic suspected that Charles did it to more than just him but most of the children didn't know how to spot the feeling of a telepath inside their mind. To that part, Charles wouldn't admit, but the guilty look in his eyes and the fact that the wheelchaired man didn't want to leave his room more often just said it all, it was hard to face children whose privacy you were accidentally invading and reading all of their personal and hormonal thoughts.

The date was a Thursday, a date Erik could never forget even if he tried in the future as it would be permanently burned into his mind. Starting out as normal, or at least what their new normal had turned into. Waking up, Erik often skipped the morning job nowadays which disappointed his little running team but they understood, he had the Professor to take care of. He did, always waking up before classes and making sure Charles got some food, herbs and a little medication into him that they deemed necessary before heading off to teach his classes while Charles rested a bit more.

The older mutants first three classes went well and as normal and it wasn't until his class after lunch that he felt it. Erik was the first to notice, suddenly there was a tingling in the back of his mind, a familiar feeling of Charles inside of his head. So as he taught the mutant expertly projected back, _Charles, leibe, need something?_ Pain flooded through his head then and Erik found his knees hitting the ground before his mind registered much else, holding his head tightly his body felt in a vice-like he was being strangled through every pore of his skin. "Cha...rles.." he said out loud as if he could be heard.

Evening being accustomed to pain this type made Erik want to scream and sob, he could feel Charles' mind igniting every part of the pain sensor inside of his brain, it felt like hours but Erik had managed to lift a hand and grip the top of his desk before pulling himself up slowly and half limp from the floor. Scrambling in what felt like slow motion he grabbed the metal helmet that sat on his desk, not having been used in years now and had only been a souvenir for the children, he slammed it onto his head and felt the pain stop and air return to his lungs that Erik hadn't even noticed had left. Panting and sucking in breathes through his burning lungs the mutant stood up quickly, he wasn't the only one that was being affected, and he watched his students writhing in the same fashion.

First instincts told him to help his young students, but there would be nothing he could do than to stop it at the source. Now free of influence Erik broke into a run and taking fast and long strides upstairs towards his bedroom, finding the whole school was encircled in this catastrophe. Making it to the top of the stairs, as sudden as this had occurred it stopped without warning and Erik lunged to catch a poor student who almost fell down the stairs and moved them into a sitting position before running again. Slamming the bedroom door open he called out, "Charles what's going on!?"

The Professor laid there in bed just as Erik had left him this morning and passed out but the visage gave Erik chills, his body seemed far too limp to just be sleeping and had clearly passed out after some sort of episode. After checking the older mutant found Charles' eyes rolled back into his bed and spit over his mouth and pillow which Erik had quickly cleaned up, the bed sheets were tangled and strained against the man's small form like he had been tossing and struggling underneath them. "A..a seizure?" it was just a guess at this point since he hadn't witnessed it, at least for now it seemed this had passed. Though if it happened once and Charles was only getting more sick, it was bound to happen again, more frequently, and probably on a worse level. Worse than _that,_ he had to scoff inside of his own head, that pain had been the most intense and enveloping sort of pain Erik had ever felt.

More than anything he wanted to stay and keep Charles comfortable, but after checking his vitals and that he was going to be ok, Erik had no choice but to go downstairs to check on everyone else. Not everyone would have been as lucky as he to escape the pain with little to no consequences. To his luck, all of the teachers were fine as well and within the next four hours, Erik discovered the horror of three catatonic students, lots of dead pet fish, more than a dozen young students who were still crying out of fear, and one dead young man.

Kevin Sydney, Erik recognized him right away, a bright young man with the power to change into other people. Similar but also very non-similar to what Mystique could do he had always thought. Kevin had been in one of Erik's language classes and he had quite the affinity for them and always responded back to Erik in a different language than he was called on in, which never failed to make his teacher smile.

He had been working through all of the student's health and pain with his old stoic nature, as a statue which was fitting since Erik hadn't taken the helmet off or even thought of it. Never had the mutant been more thankful for Hank and Storm before either, both were handling this with superior strides compared to him and each suggested they had it under control before sending Erik upstairs to go check on the Professor for the rest of the day.

Walking into the dark room he felt a knot form inside of his throat that he tried to swallow around. It was dark but he could see Charles' eyes blink open to look at him, a small smile cross his face as the telepath muttered, "Hey where've you been? And why are you wearing that awful thing...no wonder I could reach you.."

Charles had no idea what he'd done, he didn't remember even a speck of it, that's what Erik suddenly realized seeing the calm demeanor of his lover. "Stop teasing, take it off and come over here will you?" the Professor was still smiling and reached a hand out for the metal kinetic to come take, but Erik couldn't move and this time it was his own body refusing to do so.

Clearly noticing something was wrong the telepath pushed himself to sit up in bed, back against the wall behind their bed. "Talk to me Erik, you're worrying me."

Standing there without an answer, for the first time in his life, Erik found himself afraid of Charles' power. There had always been a comfort that such a power was being held in the mind of a kind, wonderful man who would never use it to hurt or manipulate outside of what he absolutely had to do. Taking that control away left fear in its wake that the older mutant couldn't control, so as he stepped forward and prepared to speak, the helmet remained on.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading, I'm sorry it took so long to get chapter 2 out. I've just been working a lot and it makes it hard to focus on writing sometimes. No worries though I have the other chapters all plotted out so there is 100% no way the fic will be abandoned at all, I love it too much so I will finish it.

Next Chapter Summary: News gets out, Charles' brain is classified as a weapon of mass destruction. Leaving the school and mutant family with burden, the government after their Professor, and Erik with many decisions to make. Should he tell Charles? And should they leave, or stay?


End file.
